When having a full time job, nothing was more exciting than getting to Friday and getting to turn your brain off with sleeping in, watching TV all day, and going out in the evenings for a hot romantic meal (and by hot I mean temperature).

Once you’re a parent, you do none of those things on the weekends.

Kids are up at 7 no matter what day it is. The TV is NOT on all day - at least in our house it’s not on at all. I’m on my feet all day cooking three meals a day instead of one or two and by the time I sit down, after getting everything for everyone else, my meal is cold (although that’s everyday).

The hardest part about the weekends is keeping the kids entertained. Or they’re really good at entertaining themselves inside, but then the side effect of that is walking around and picking up all their toys all day long. The weekends are long and a different kind of exhausting and as parents we tend to dread them.

Outsiiiiiiiiiiiide of the house

The best way I found to survive the weekends is to keep moving. This comes with its own pros and cons. Let’s talk pros first.

Pros

My kids LOVE a change of scenery. They’re home all week long with the nanny. So getting out of the house during the weekend is always a welcome change. My son now asks Saturday mornings, “Where are we going to?”

When my kids are in a new environment their behavior is a God send. They use their calm voices. They are polite. They are on their best behavior (most of the time).

Clean up is nominal to non existent. Unless we’re at a friend’s house for a playdate - there’s little to no clean up. Might need to wash some snack containers or clothes from an accident, but beats running around the house trying to put things away all. day. long.

They sleep better. Wear them out! Since we got my son his bike, getting him out and riding makes him nap harder, he goes right to bed like a gem, and sleeps until 7.

Cons

Sometimes it’s a B*tch to get out of the house. Get dressed, pack snacks, go potty, shoes, jackets, get in the car, decide where you’re going.

Decide where you’re going…. you need somewhere to go and the same haunts every weekend get OLD. Create a variety of favorites and don’t be afraid to try new places or even go on a short weekend trip (which I will cover later with the help of a friend who travels A LOT)

You’re going, going, going all week and not having to go on the weekends would be nice. Just gotta pick your battles. If you don’t have the energy to get them out then stay in just find your happy medium between play to entertain and clean up. Get them to help you clean up when it’s time and find games the whole family can enjoy.

Find Your Happy Medium

We find going out first thing in morning until naps makes the day go faster. Then after naps we either meet at a near by park for a playdate or have a friend over so the friend can do some of the entertaining. It’s a shorter time so clean up isn’t as terrible.

Find a variety of near by places that the whole family enjoys and that changes periodically. In Seattle there’s a museum called The Museum of Flight and it’s perfect for the whole family. We all have a love of aircraft and/or space. There’s plenty of room for the kids to run and explore, and it changes all the time with new planes and exhibits. This is a must have membership.

Again, this is what works for our family. Every family is different. You need to do what works for you and your family. Find YOUR happy medium.

Tricks of the Trade

Tablet Game: Osmo, comes with a camera and iPad stand so your kids use tactile elements to create shapes. I really like this because while it’s tablets and screens what kids are actually playing with are puzzles, numbers, and letters

For the long car rides:

Pinna: It’s a podcast/storytelling app for kids. I LOVE this. It’s like little radio shows. They have books you might recognize then their series like Rebel Girls and this new one we found today call Brain On! which asks a question then goes on a quest to answer it like “How we catch a cold.” We originally signed up because it used to have Sarah and Duck. It’s not just someone reading. It has sound effects and sometimes different voices. The production quality is excellent.

Get the next newsletter delivered right to your inbox

Your personal information will only be used by MommaFinds. It will never be sold. Pinky swear.